News & Updates

The tourism ministry has decided to process applications for star ratings of hotels within 90 days of receiving the request. The hotels will also be able to track the fate of their applications online. The decisions will come into effect from April 1st, 2013.

The hotels voluntarily submit applications seeking approval from the tourism ministry for their projects to get ratings, from one star to five star deluxe categories.

“These requests will be processed within 90 days from the receipt of the complete applications. At present, the applicants remain unaware of the status of their applications till the final decision is conveyed to them. To bring in transparency, the applicants will also be able to track their applications online,” said tourism minister K. Chiranjeevi.

All applicants will be given a password to access the details posted on the website of the tourism ministry. The web details will indicate the date of the receipt of applications, status regarding the project’s approval, proposed date of the visit of the Hotel and Restaurant Classification Committee, final recommendation of the panel and final status of classification.

The hotel owners now have to do several rounds of the tourism ministry office in Delhi to check on the status of their application. Between January and November 2012, 58.99 lakh tourists visited India. This figure was marginally more than 2011 when during the corresponding period; the number of visitors was 55.72 lakh.